Jumping Jacks Shoes are my new obsession! I own about 10 pairs of these fantastic children’s shoes, and I couldn’t be happier with the fit, stylishness and durability. I bought my son his first pair of Jumping Jacks about a year ago when he was 20 months old. What I wouldn’t do to have owned these from the time when he started walking. These leather shoes and sandals are so well made, and they are very light and comfortable. The sole is very flexible and they are cushioned with soft leather foot beds. The padded collars around the opening of the shoes are great as well, protecting little feet from rubbing or blisters. My son can put on a brand new pair, run around for hours, and his feet show no signs of pressure points. My youngest son just started walking and does great with Jumping Jacks Basically Barefoot line of shoes, which are specifically designed with the new walker in mind. Once his feet get bigger, he will definitely inherit my older sons Jumping Jacks, because they basically look as though they were never used. The durability of these leather shoes is top notch.

Jumping Jacks Shoes have been around for 60 years, and they pride themselves on manufacturing top quality, orthopedically sound children’s shoes. They have several lines of shoes, from the Basically Barefoot and Perfection lines for beginner walkers, to the Uniform line for adolescents. They have boys and girls styles, both casual and dressy. Most styles come in regular and wide widths, and range from sizes 2 to 12/13. For more information about these shoes please visit Jumping Jacks Shoes.

Popularity: 10% [?]

We have been using the Jasmine 4-in-1 Crib by Delta Children’s Products nonstop for almost 3 years now. I started using this crib once my son was out of his bassinet, until he was about 24 months old and we needed it for my youngest son. Once this boy is big enough we plan on still using it and converting it to a toddler bed. Now, realize that this crib has been through quite a beating with two rambunctious boys, and it still looks like brand new and is as sturdy as the first day we put it up in the nursery.

This versatile and stylish piece of nursery furniture starts out as a crib with a quiet track fixed drop side for easy lifting of the baby into and out of the crib. There are 5 mattress height positions, allowing the mattress to be dropped down for when your little one starts sitting up and standing. Later the crib can be converted to a toddler bed, a day bed and even a full size bed. The full size bed requires an additional frame which is sold separately, but is easily available for purchase from Delta Children’s Products.

The Jasmine 4-in-1 Crib features a solid wood frame and metal construction, and it is JPMACP certified, meeting all mandatory and voluntary safety standards. As a crib and toddler bed it is rated for up to 50 pounds. It comes in several different stains to match your nursery decor, such as natural, cherry, and white. For more information, please go to Delta Children’s Products.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Sometimes it’s the simplest toys that make the biggest hit with kids. This is so true of the Playskool Busy Gears at my house. My boys received this toy as a Christmas present and have yet to tire of it. My 2.5 year old and 10 month old are both fascinated with the Playskool Busy Gears, spending a lot of time sorting and rearranging the colorful gears, taking them off, spinning them, and toting it all around the house. They actually play with the toy together, with my older son showing the younger one how to put the gears on, stack them, and to take them off. It is such a simple toy, with one button that plays a little tune and causes lights to flash and the gears to spin. That’s all it does, but it is hands down the favorite toy in the house right now. I can even spend some time doing housework, bills, etc. if I put this in front of them. That alone makes it a worthy buy in my book!

The Playskool Busy Gears is a colorful toy which has 11 mulicolored gears that can be rearranged, sorted and stacked. A red button at the bottom of the toy causes lights to flash, a song to play, and the gears to spin around. It also has an automatic shutoff feature which conserves the batteries. For more information about the Busy Gears and other Hasbro/Playskool toys, please visit Hasbro’s Playskool Website.

Popularity: 7% [?]

If you have hardwood, tile, or vinyl floors in your home, the Swiffer Sweeper Vac is for you. I received my Swiffer Sweeper Vac complements of The Mom Blogs. So, a hearty thank you goes out to them, because I absolutely love this cleaning tool! I have tile flooring in my kitchen, foyer, and bathrooms, and thanks to my kids there are always crumbs and such all over. Originally I would sweep the floor with a broom or handheld brush, but it just seemed to spread things around more than anything - plus it was so time consuming. The Swiffer Sweeper Vac made it so easy to clean up crumbs, cherrios, hair, dust bunnies, etc. in less than a couple minutes! So much so, that it has now officially replaced my broom and dustpan.

The Swiffer Sweeper Vac is a light weight long-handled bagless vacuum that also has a swiffer dry cloth that picks up all of the fine debris on the floor, like dust and hair. The head swivels which makes it easy to clean around and under furniture. The vacuum is pretty powerful at 10.5 Amps and runs on a rechargeable battery, so it’s cordless. Basically, you keep the vac plugged in and it is ready to go whenever you need it. The battery lasts about 12 minutes before you need to recharge it, so it is most suited for smaller quick jobs.

For more information about the Swiffer Sweeper Vac visit Swiffer.com.

Popularity: 8% [?]

In honor of Scrolling Saturday, we are featuring this archived post:

If it weren’t for the Huggies Overnites Diapers, I would be doing laundry loads of soaked sheets and clothes every morning. My son started potty training about four months ago, and while daytime is going very well, nighttime is an entirely different story. My son is such a heavy sleeper that he does not wake up for the bathroom or potty. The Huggies Overnites Diapers have been the only ones that have held enough liquid for him to sleep through the entire night, without waking up in a pool of wet clothes and sheets. Recently, I went without these diapers because I ran out and forgot to get more at the store.  Well, I was washing sheets every morning for 4 days before I quickly ran to the store at 11pm one night to buy these diapers.  The Huggies Overnites have to be the only diapers I have come across that actually work for heavy nighttime wetters. Every other diaper or nighttime pullup we have tried has caused either bad leaks or has caused my son to wake up crying from feeling very wet. A lot of moms who have tried these diapers, agree that these are simply the best for overnight wear.

The Huggies Overnites Diapers come in three sizes: 3(16-28 lbs), 4(22-37 lbs), and 5(27+ lbs). For more information visit Huggies Baby. Sometimes, Huggies Overnites are not available in your local retailers, but they are easily ordered on Amazon in all three sizes.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Blocking noise in the home can sometimes be one of the best things you can do to ensure your little ones get the sleep they deserve. I have found this to be true even more so now with two children in the house. My youngest goes to bed about an hour to hour and a half earlier than my oldest, and with the Brookstone Tranquil Moments Sound Machine set to the “white noise” setting, my youngest doesn’t get disturbed by anything else that is going on in the house. I started using this machine for bedtime and naptime pretty much from the moment I brought my babies home from the hospital. It essentially became one of the triggers in the bedtime routine. As soon as I turned it on, my kids knew that it was time for bed. I now have two of these, one in each of the boys’ rooms. Even grandma has one at her house, for those times when we are over and the kids need to take their naps. Another great feature of the Brookstone Tranquil Moments Sound Machine is that it is small enough that it can travel with you. When we went on vacation to Europe and Florida, we packed our sound machine and used it everywhere we stayed.

The Brookstone Tranquil Moments Sound Machine for Baby has 6 different sound settings: white noise, prenatal, lullaby, dolphins, car ride, and heartbeat. I personally have mainly used the white noise setting for sleep, but the heartbeat and lullaby settings worked well when my kids were newborns. There is another version of this sound machine marketed for adults, which has 12 pre-programmed “nature” sounds, including the “white noise” setting. My husband and I have this one in our room to help us sleep as well. For more information about Brookstone’s line of sound machines please visit Brookstone.com.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Mommies-to-be have a hip new place on the web they can go and learn about all things related to pregnancy! The Bump is a great website that rightfully describes itself as “The Ultimate Local Guide to Pregnant Living”. With an acclaimed panel of experts discussing issues such as fitness, nutrition, baby gear, childbirth, etc., moms-to-be can get a sense of what’s in store for them during their pregnancies and what to expect following the birth of their baby. The Bump currently has a list of 13 major metropolitan cities where you can find retailers and resources from prenatal nutrition to nanny services, and everything in-between. The Bump also publishes featured articles on their website about topics such as traveling while pregnant, planning a baby shower, and surviving bed rest. The best part is that joining The Bump is free! As an added bonus for signing up, you get instant access to special offers from The Bump’s advertisers with your Bump Exclusive Rewards card, invitations to grand openings and local events in your area, and automatic entry to Bump-sponsored contests, sweepstakes, or giveaways throughout the year. Very cool, indeed! So, take a look around at www.thebump.com and tell them The Wise Mommy sent you!

Popularity: 6% [?]

Nickelodeon and Sony BMG have another hit on their hands with the latest new Backyardigans CD “Born to Play”, which is released on January 22nd. My kids and I have been listening to this CD, which we received as a pre-release a few weeks ago, pretty much non-stop. My son is a big fan of the Backyardigans, as am I, and we look forward to listening to it during our “dance-time” after dinner. The Backyardigans are a group of 5 neighbors that meet up in the backyard and act out different adventures, transforming themselves into different characters in far off lands. The music is what makes this series for children stand out above the rest, in my opinion. It is even a pleasure for adults to listen to the catchy songs.

The Backyardigans “Born to Play” CD is packed with 22 full-length songs from the hit Nick Jr. series, spanning musical genres ranging from jazz to zydeco to hip-hop and even arena rock. Guest artists featured on this CD include Alicia Keys, Cyndi Lauper, and Adam Pascal. As an added bonus, this particular CD features all of the songs from the much anticipated “Tale of the Mighty Nights” movie event, which is scheduled to air January 14th. “Born to Play” is available for purchase January 22nd, and will be packaged in an earth-friendly recycled sleeve. There are also other Backyardigans CDs currently available in addition to this new release. They are “The Backyardigans” and “Groove to the Music”. All of these are available in the children’s sections of most music stores or on Amazon for purchase.

Popularity: 5% [?]

I bought Potty Training for Dummies a few months before my son’s second birthday in anticipation of the challenge of potty training which lay ahead of me. It was totally by accident that I found this book in the bookstore. I didn’t even know they made one of these “Dummies” books for things like this, and since I was always a great fan of the other “Dummies” books, I just had to pick it up. Well, I ended up devouring this book in less than a day. It is funny, witty, and has a lot of great tips and ideas for potty training your toddler. I started implementing several of the tips as soon as I had read the book in order to start getting my son ready for “potty training weekend”. By starting some of the techniques right away, I was able to get my son to be daytime potty trained pretty much in 4 days, about a week before his 2nd birthday! Minor accidents are few and far between, but can and still do happen. When they do, I just use Potty Training for Dummies as a great reference to get things back on track. Nighttime is still being worked on as my son could sleep through a nuclear war, so he doesn’t wake up for going to the bathroom yet either. But it will all come in time!

Potty Training for Dummies is written by a mother and daughter team, who have raised their fair share of children. The daughter is also a doctor, so she gives some good medical perspective about the fine art of potty training your toddler. They offer expert advice on how to decide if your child is ready, choose the right time to start, say the right things with positive reinforcement, when to switch to training pants or underwear, and also how to cope with special cases and children with disabilities.

Potty Training for Dummies is available online at Walmart, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon, as well as some local bookstores.

Popularity: 9% [?]

I don’t know where I would be without my glider. The best example I can give is that if I have to put my kids to bed anywhere other than my home, the Shermag Deluxe Glider is the item I truly miss the most at that time. This cushy chair has been in use even before my boys were born, simply because it is so comfortable! I used to sit in it and rock myself to sleep when I had to sleep upright due to severe reflux during the last month of both of my pregnancies. I also used the matching ottoman to prop my feet upon since I was dealing with pretty severe edema/swelling in my legs as well. But by far the most use I have gained from this glider is during feeding and rocking my boys before naptime and bedtime.

The Shermag Deluxe Glider is a modern rocking chair that “glides” smoothly with a rocking motion. The cushions are super thick and comfortable - you practically melt into it! The back of the chair comes up pretty high, so much so that at 5′7″ I can comfortably rest my head and relax with my boys during feeding and our bedtime routine. Even my 6′5″ husband can rest his head on the back. I think this is such an important feature, because I have been in other rockers at other’s homes, and with more then 5 minutes of rocking my neck would start to ache while I was feeding my kids. The armrests are also nice and covered with cushions - my Boppy Pillow fits perfectly, resting on both armrests, and my kids feel comfortable and secure. The Shermag Deluxe Glider is basically silent, too, which means none of that squeaking rocking chair noise which has the potential to either keep your kids up or wake them when you are trying to lull them.

The Shermag Deluxe Glider and Ottoman are made with real hardwood, stained in several different colors to match any kind of nursery furniture you may have. The thickly upholstered cushions are also available in several different fabric types and colors to suit your taste. Some of these gliders even have an added feature of a locking mechanism, if you just want to use the glider as a stationary chair. For more information about the Shermag Gliders and Ottomans, please visit Shermag Furniture. These gliders are available for purchase through both Target and Amazon.

Popularity: 7% [?]